Malda, Sept. 20: The five-year-old daughter of a labour supplier was stabbed in her sleep today allegedly by the domestic help in retaliation for a police complaint against him in connection with a theft.

Abu Barkat, 24, fled after stabbing Sania Khatun who has been admitted to Malda Medical College and Hospital in a serious condition.

The deputy superintendent of the hospital, Jyotish Chandra Das, said the assailant had left the knife used to stab her in the middle of the stomach.

"The infant was stabbed in the middle of her stomach, just below her navel. The knife that was left embedded had pierced about four to five inches inside her abdomen. We carried out an emergency surgery on her and removed the knife. Ten stitches had to be put on her stomach. She has lost a lot of blood. She is on blood drip and oxygen. We cannot say anything before the next 24 hours," Das said.

The girl was sleeping with her mother. "Around 4.30am today, the mother had left the room and finding the girl alone, the accused stabbed her with a knife," a source at Baishnabnagar police station said.

Sania's father, Rabbur Sheikh, is a labour supplier. His wife, Musiba Bibi, said Barkat used to stay with his mother in an adjacent hut. "His father had abandoned them and his mother died when he was just five. Taking pity on him, we took him in and raised him. I used to treat him as a family member and he did household chores," she said.

Sheikh said nearly 40gm of gold ornaments belonging to his wife had gone missing on Saturday.

"We suspected Abu. He owned up to the crime and I lodged an FIR with Baishnabnagar police station on Monday. After that, he promised to return the stolen ornaments provided I withdrew the complaint. I made it clear to him that he should first return the stolen items. But instead of returning the ornaments, he stabbed our daughter and ran away," Sheikh said.